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Coronavirus reopening: As Oregon's outdoors and parks reopen, where can you go? Here's the latest

Even so, many places remain closed for now, with the state largely reopening the outdoors in phases, and with multiple land managers working on different schedules.

This story includes information about everything — from Oregon's state parks to reservoirs to vast public lands in the mountains and forest.

City Parks

While this varies from city to city, in most cases parks remain open for walking, jogging or biking; bathrooms, playground equipment and other places where people cluster have been closed.

County parks and boat ramps

Typically located outside city limits, but closer to populated areas, county parks often offer camping, boat ramps and trails.

All campgrounds remain closed, but the rest is a mixed bag.

Many county parks in the Oregon Coast and Coast Range — which can include boat ramps on the Siletz, Nestucca and other popular rivers — remain closed.

Inland, Marion County's 18 parks have been closed but are expected to reopen sometime in the near future, including boat ramps on the North Santiam River, while Linn County has kept boat ramps and parks open to day-use.

In other words, make sure to check county websites before traveling.

State Parks reopens 33 state parks, more coming

Oregon has fully reopened 16 state parks and partly reopened another 17 across the state, largely in the southern, central and eastern part of the state.

Parks are only open for day-use, and many have limitations in service.

Smith Rock State Park has limited reopening May 14

One of Oregon's most popular state parks, Smith Rock, will reopen on May 14 but with limitations.

Half of the parking will remain closed, along with the campground and visitor's center. In addition the Misery Ridge Trail, the park's most popular route, will remain closed.

The closures are meant to keep

Rock climbing will be allowed.

The overarching goal of keeping Misery Ridge and parking closed is to limit the number of people in the park.

“The purpose is to limit the number of people out on the trails, where it’s harder to avoid contact during this initial phase,” Oregon Parks and Recreation Department spokesman Chris Havel said. “If you can’t park legally, leave.”

Fishing and hunting

Fishing and hunting were never closed in Oregon. The trick is finding the right place to wet a line, with so many places closed. There have been minor tweaks to hunting, but not much. Contact the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife for questions.

Oregon Coast beach

Oregon Coast recreation sites are likely to be among the last to reopen. The sweeping closures started on the Coast after local officials enacted emergency orders to literally kick tourists out of town after the area was flooded with visitors in March.

The vast majority of parks and beach access points are closed from Reedsport to Astoria, unless you live there, and people have been cited for trespassing.

Columbia River Gorge

And currently, just about everything in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area is closed. All state parks and even the forest, managed by the U.S. Forest Service, is closed. Even the historic highway that accesses the Gorge is closed unless you live there.

“This is a legal closure and people who don’t follow the closure order could be ticketed,” spokeswoman Rachel Pawlitz said. “If we come across people in closed areas, we’ll inform them of the closure order and ask them to leave.”

Opal Creek / Little North Santiam Canyon

In this canyon of old-growth forest and swimming holes, reopening is not simple due to multiple land management agencies on top of each other.

The Marion County Parks — North Fork, Bear Creek and Salmon Falls — are currently closed.

Then, you cross onto U.S. Forest Service land in the Opal Creek Scenic Area. There, trailheads and recreation facilities with a bathroom are closed. That includes Opal Creek Trailhead, Three Pools and Shady Cove.

But, trailheads without a bathroom are open, and that includes Henline Falls, Henline Mountain and Little North Santiam Trail.

You are legally allowed to access trails even with closed trailheads. See this story for more details.

The rest of Oregon’s forests and mountains to slowly reopen over weeks

The vast majority of Western Oregon's forests and mountains are managed by the U.S. Forest Service. The federal agency closed all developed recreation sites in March, but on Thursday said it would begin "planning how to safely reopen areas and facilities in a phased manner."

Some forests have already started opening — see Umpqua above. Everywhere else, here's the rules that are in place:

Hiking and mountain biking

While trailheads and developed sites remain closed, in some cases you're allowed to park elsewhere — including a forest road where you’re not blocking traffic — and access a trail for hiking or mountain biking.

That means you could park on a forest road and hike or bike to a trailhead to access the trail, McMillan said. Or it could mean accessing a trail that parallels a road. The idea is to keep people from clustering in one area.

Again, make sure you keep 6 to 10 feet, or even more, from other hikers or bikers at all times.

If there's no closure order, the trails are open but trailhead parking may still be closed - if it's too busy to park safely along the road, it's not a good option right now. We are gradually reopening trailheads in WA and OR, but won't happen all at once. (2/2)

Recreation sites are slowly opening, as evidenced by the Opal Creek area, but decisions will likely be made on a case-by-case basis. Call local ranger stations for specifics.

Camping and dispersed camping

All state campgrounds across Oregon remain closed, and that's likely to continue for the foreseeable future.

However, dispersed camping, generally defined as driving or biking up remote roads on public lands and camping away from other people or developed facilities, remains open — typically on land managed by the Forest Service or BLM.

Mountain or road biking on Forest Service roads

The vast and complex network of Forest Service roads remain open to all bikes, and possibilities for bike-packing remain legal.

Fishing on lakes, rivers on federal land

Outside developed recreation sites, you can park on Forest Service Roads to access lakes and rivers to fish, as long as social distancing rules are followed.

Oregon reservoir parks begin reopening for fishing access

The parks and water access points at Oregon's reservoirs, often managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, have started to reopen for day-use at sites in Oregon.

Crater Lake National Park still closed

The state's monuments are also largely closed, including the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, which includes the famous Painted Hills unit.

Officials at both Crater Lake and the Fossil Beds said no date has been established for reopening, but they are planning for an eventual reopening at both places.

Oregon State Forests

Smaller and less-visited than the giant federal forests, but still close to many communities, Oregon’s state forests remain partly open. This would include places such as Tillamook and Santiam State forests.

All campgrounds and bathrooms are closed, however, access has not been restricted for forest roads, trails and trailheads in state forests. Dispersed camping is also not allowed in state forests.

Willamette Valley National Wildlife Refuges

Basket Slough and Ankeny, which have trails and are located about 10 to 15 minutes from Salem, both remain open and accessible. The Finley Refuge Road and office are closed.

"The refuges and trails are currently open, but all offices are closed," the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said. "Finley has no vehicle access on Finley Refuge Road. The public should follow CDC guidelines and avoid overcrowding at trails and trailheads and practice safe social distancing at all times."

Famous rivers including John Day, Deschutes and Rogue River

None of the rivers in Oregon are officially closed, but the access points to many are limited by the closures of parks and boat ramps, or by not issuing river permits.

For example, on the John Day River, the permits needed to float the river are not being issued and all permits all permits to float the river until May 20 have been canceled. Meaning, you can't float the river because you can't get a permit, plus all the boat ramps remain closed.

The situation is identical on the Lower Deschutes, where no permits are also being issued through May 20 and no public boat ramps are open.

On the Rogue River in Southern Oregon, however, some boat ramps are open but permits are not being issued for the river's famous "wild section," which is typically an overnight rafting trip.

Oregon’s BLM desert lands

The other major federal land management agency in the Northwest, the Bureau of Land Management has closed campgrounds but has kept open most trails and open spaces.

That would impact destinations such as Steens Mountain, which would have its campgrounds and restrooms closed but not its road or trails.

"Multiple opportunities remain for the public to enjoy the outdoors as long as visitors heed orders, guidance, and advice of local and state officials and the Centers for Disease Control," BLM said in a news release.

Buy Photo

Smith Rock State Park has become increasingly crowded on weekends during the past two and a half years.(Photo: ZACH URNESS / Statesman Journal file)

Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter, photographer and videographer in Oregon for 12 years. To support his work, subscribe to the Statesman Journal.

Urness is the author of “Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon” and “Hiking Southern Oregon.” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.